ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Health Minister chairs high level review meeting on control of vector borne diseases
Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, held a high level meeting to review the preparedness of the Ministry for prevention and control of vector borne diseases likekalaazar, dengue, malaria and chickungunya in the country, here today. During the meeting, ShriNadda directed the officials for mounting aggressive IEC campaigns to enhance awareness on prevention and control of vectors before the season starts.
Smt. Preeti Sudan, Secretary , and other senior officers of the Union Health Ministry, National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme  and National Centre for Disease Control  were also present in the meeting.
At the review meeting, ShriNadda stated that he will speak to the Health Ministers of the endemic States to ensure that they are prepared with all the necessary medicines, kits etc. He further said that he will also ask them to take up aggressive IEC in their states.
ShriNadda also asked Secretary  to speak to the State Health Secretaries to gear up for the prevention and control of vector borne diseases. The Health Minister further directed the officials and Nodal officers to visitkalaazar endemic States of Jharkhand and Bihar immediately and report to him by next Wednesday.
ShriNadda also directed the officials to organise and complete the Training of Trainers for ventilator management for 125 doctors for management of H1NI cases, well in time.
Ministry of Education
Country cannot progress without research in social science and technology – Shri Prakash Javadekar
Union HRD Minister launches the web portal for ‘Impactful Policy Research in Social Science’  in New Delhi
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Prakash Javadekar launched the web portal of the Scheme “Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences ” in New Delhi today. Briefing the media about the scheme, the Minister said that that under the Scheme, 1500 research projects will be awarded for 2 years to support the social science research in the higher educational institutions and to enable research to guide policy making. He also said research in social science is essential for progress of the society and the research carried out under IMPRESS scheme will be used to understand and solve problems facing the society.
He further informed that the Government, in August 2018, had sanctioned the scheme “Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences ” at a total cost of Rs.414 Cr for implementation up to 31.3.2021 and Indian Council of Social Science and Research  will be the project implementing agency.
The broad objectives of the scheme are:
a) To identify and fund research proposals in social sciences with maximum impact on the governance and society.
b) To focus research on  broad thematic areas such as : State and Democracy, Urban transformation, Media, Culture and Society, Employment, Skills and Rural transformation, Governance, Innovation and Public Policy, Growth, Macro-trade and Economic Policy, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Environment, Science and Education, Social Media and Technology, Politics, Law and Economics. The Sub-Theme areas will be decided on the basis of Expert Groups’ advice before notifying the scheme and calling for applications.
c) To ensure selection of projects through a transparent, competitive process on online mode.
d) To provide opportunity for social science researchers in any institution in the country, including all Universities , private institutions with 12 status conferred by UGC.
e) ICSSR funded/recognised research institutes will also be eligible to submit research proposals on the given themes and sub-themes.
The following will be the modalities for implementation:-
- There will be  calls for proposals – October, 2018, February 2019, September 2019 and February 2020. The process of evaluation of the proposals and selection will be completed within 90 days from the date of call for proposals.
- The experts for evaluation of proposals will be persons of eminence and selected using objective criteria.
- There will be a regular monitoring of the progress of projects using the online portal, in which the progress can be directly updated by the Project Coordinator.
- There will be a third party evaluation of the projects in March 2021.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
121.94 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
Recovery Rate currently at 98.34%; Highest since March 2020
9,481 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,39,98,278
8,774 new cases in the last 24 hours
India's Active caseload stands at 1,05,691; lowest in 543 days
Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.31%; Lowest since March 2020
Daily positivity rate  less than 2% for last 55 days
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 1% for last 14 days
63.94 cr Total Tests conducted so far
Prime Minister's Office
Remarks by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Leader-level plenary of the second Summit for Democracy
Namaskar!
I bring you the greetings of 1.4 billion people of India.
The idea of elected leaders was a common feature in ancient India, long before the rest of the world. In our ancient epic, Mahabharata, the first duty of citizens is described as choosing their own leader.
Our sacred Vedas, speak of political power being exercised by broad-based consultative bodies. There are also many historical references to Republic states in ancient India, where the rulers were not hereditary. India is, indeed, the mother of democracy.
Excellencies,
Democracy is not just a structure; it is also a spirit. It is based on the belief that the needs and aspirations of every human being are equally important. That is why, in India, our guiding philosophy is "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas", meaning ''striving together for inclusive growth''.
Whether it is our effort to fight climate change through life-style changes, to conserve water through distributed storage, or provide clean cooking fuel to everyone, every initiative is powered by the collective efforts of the citizens of India.
During Covid-19, India's response was people-driven. It is they who made it possible to administer over 2 billion doses of Made in India vaccines. Our ''Vaccine Maitri'' initiative shared millions of vaccines with the world.
This was also guided by the democratic spirit of ''Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'' - One Earth, One Family, One Future.
Excellencies,
There is much to say about the virtues of democracy, but let me say just this: India, despite the many global challenges, is the fastest growing major economy today. This itself is the best advertisement for democracy in the world. This itself says that Democracy Can Deliver.
Thank you, President Yoon, for chairing this session.
And thank you, to all the distinguished leaders for your presence.
Thank you very much.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Central Water Commission accords consent to Preliminary Projects Reports  of Kerala Sustainable Coastal Protection and Climate Resilience planning Project for External Assistance from Asian Development Bank 
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Kerala has communicated that they are not aware of the details of the study by the University of Kerala on coast land stretch of Thiruvananthapuram. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change  has not received any information regarding the study conducted by the University of Kerala.
It was stated that National Centre for Coastal Research , an attached office of the Ministry of Earth Science , Government of India has been monitoring the shoreline changes for the entire Indian coastline using multispectral satellite images along with field-surveyed data since 1990. As a part of this study, the statistics for Thiruvananthapuram District are given below:
|
|
Land Loss 
|
|
Land Gain 
|
|
Erosion 
|
|
Stable 
|
|
Accretion 
|
|
85.37
|
|
127.57
|
|
34.4
|
|
34.4
|
|
31.2
It was also stated that no proposal has been received from Government of Kerala for funding under Central Scheme. However, following Preliminary Projects Reports  have been accorded consent as per the existing guidelines for the preparation of Detailed Project Reports  by Central Water Commission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India:
- Kerala Sustainable Coastal Protection and Climate Resilience planning Project for External Assistance from Asian Development Bank  amounting to Rs.3500 Cr., and
- Additional Financing for Resilient Kerala Program – Coastal Protection Project  for external Assistance from World Bank amounting Rs.1590 Cr.
It was mentioned in the written reply that shoreline protection is in the mandate of State Governments and MoEFCC has not received any such proposal from the State Government of Kerala.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
GeM achieves total procurement value of ₹ 2,70,384 Crore
GeM has achieved total procurement value of ₹2,70,384 Crore , since its inception. The Government of India set up the Government e-Marketplace  in 2016 as an e-marketplace to revolutionize public procurement in India by leveraging technology. Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 01.06.2022 has given its approval for expanding the mandate of GeM to allow procurement by Cooperatives as buyers on GeM.
Previously, public procurement in India was characterized by inefficient, opaque, and time consuming manual processes conducted offline, complicated by a fragmented and complex policy landscape.
GeM’s approach is underlined by commitment to three pillars of transparency, efficiency and inclusiveness elaborated as under:
 Transparency: GeM is an open marketplace wherein it promotes open access to information in a transparent manner. Relevant information on Sellers, Goods and Services is easy to find and readily available for users. GeM provides database insights to support its users in decision-making process.
 Inclusiveness: GeM’s focus on inclusiveness is multifaceted, involving not only making the platform usable and trusted by every type of seller but also conducting active outreach to onboard marginalized and underserved seller segments including Small and Medium Enterprises, Women Entrepreneurs, Startups and Artisans.
 Efficiency: In view of being an end to end online and integrated portal, GeM brings efficiency in Public Procurement by removing manual interventions at various stages of Public Procurement.
Government has amended the General Financial Rules 2017  and made a provision under Rule 149 for making it mandatory to procure Goods and Services through GeM.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
Indian Army signs MoU with Bank of Baroda for new 'Baroda Military Salary Package'
Indian Army and Bank of Baroda have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding  for 'Baroda Military Salary Package'. The MoU was signed by Lt Gen Ravin Khosla, DG and Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda in presence of Lt Gen Harsha Gupta, Adjutant General, Indian Army who also chaired the meeting. The MoU lays down the basis on which banking services would be provided by Bank of Baroda to serving and retired personnel of Indian Army.
Services under 'Baroda Military Salary Package' will be offered to serving and retired personnel of Indian Army through the Bank's network of over 8,200 domestic branches and around 20,000 business correspondent touchpoints.
The package offers very attractive benefits including free Personal Accidental Insurance cover, Permanent Total Disability cover, Partial disability Cover and Air Accident Insurance Cover of sizeable amounts, as well as Higher Education Cover and Girl Child Marriage Cover on death in case of serving personnel. Other offerings under the package include unlimited free ATM transactions at all bank ATMs, waivers or concessions on various service charges in retail loans, free remittance facility through RTGS/NEFT, free Demand Draft/Banker's Cheque, substantial discount in locker rentals, and various additional benefits in usage of Cards.
Ministry of Finance
Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chairs 2nd BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman virtually chaired the second meeting of BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors  along with Governor Reserve Bank of India, Shri Shaktikanta Das under Indian BRICS Chairship here today. This meeting is scheduled ahead of the BRICS Leaders’ Summit 2021 to discuss and finalise key outcomes of BRICS finance agenda this year. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa were in attendance.
The Finance Minister discussed with her BRICS counterparts the key areas of intra-BRICS cooperation that would be crucial in supporting the recovery of BRICS economies and maintaining macroeconomic stability, while protecting against future uncertainties and risks. Smt. Sitharaman also highlighted that BRICS has been playing and will continue to play a crucial role in dealing with crisis such as COVID-19 pandemic.
During the meeting, the FMCBGs endorsed the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Statement on Global Economic Outlook and Responding to COVID-19 Crisis with an annexure on snapshot of policy experiences of BRICS in dealing with the economic impact of the pandemic. Smt. Sitharaman, as the chair, remarked that India attaches great significance to presenting this Statement before the global community since it unanimously voices the view of BRICS countries on the critical aspects underpinning current international policy conversations on post pandemic recovery.
A “Technical Report on Social Infrastructure: Financing and Use of Digital Technologies” was also endorsed. This report is a unique exercise towards collaborative knowledge sharing between BRICS economies on social infrastructure, including on how BRICS governments have leveraged digital technologies to enhance access and improve service delivery, especially in the health and education sectors. The BRICS Finance Ministers also welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the text of Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance  in Customs matters, along with deliberating progress made on other custom related matters.
Governor RBI Shri Shaktikanta Das chaired the discussions on Central Bank issues and their outcomes in the meeting, which included Financial Inclusion, Contingent Reserve Arrangement  and Information Security Cooperation.
Smt. Sitharaman and Shri Das appreciated the BRICS members for their cooperation and support to the Indian Chair in preparation as well as finalisation of the significant and relevant deliverables of BRICS Finance.
Ministry of Defence
CURTAIN RAISER: EX TSENTR 2019
Exercise TSENTR 2019 is part of the annual series of large scale exercises that form part of the Russian Armed Forces' annual training cycle. The series rotates through the four main Russian operational strategic commands. Russia holds a major military exercise every year at one of it’s four military Commands i.e Vostok , Zapad , TSENTR  and Kavkas . This year the exercise is planned between 09 September to 23 September 19 at Donguz training ranges, Orenburg, Russia. These annual exercises have slowly began taking an international character, with Belarus participating in ZAPAD-2017 and China and Mongolia participating in VOSTOK-2018. This year, invitations for participation have been extended to nine other countries.
This year’s Exercise TSENTR 2019 will be conducted by Central Military Commission of Russia. Apart from host Russia, military contingents from China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan will also take part in this mega event.
The exercise aims at evolving drills of the participating armies and practicing them in the fight against the scourge of international terrorism thereby ensuring military security in the strategic central Asian region. The TSENTR-2019 strategic measures will focus on evaluating the level of troop preparedness, the acquisition of the required skills and raising the level of inter- operability and demonstrate the readiness of the participating armies.
The exercise TSENTR 2019 will comprise two modules. The first module will include counter- terror operations, repelling air strikes, reconnaissance operations and defensive measures, while the second will focus on offensive operations.
Col Aman Anand
PRO 
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Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
OMCs announce Ex-Gratia of Rs 5 Lakh for delivery boys and others working in LPG supply chain for covid-19;
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan welcomes the step
Oil marketing companies- IOCL, BPCL and HPCL today announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh each, as a one-time special measure, in the unfortunate case of demise of personnel like Show-room Staff, Godown-keepers, Mechanics and Delivery boys, attending duty in the LPG distributorship chain, due to the infection and impact of Covid-19.
LPG being an essential commodityhas been exempted from the lock-down, and personnel are required to attend duty during this crisis period to maintain uninterrupted LPG cylinder supplies across the country to all customers.
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel ShriDharmendraPradhanhas welcomed the initiative of the oil companies. In a Tweet, he said, “Welcome the humanitarian decision taken by Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL.This gesture of goodwill is a recognition of the services rendered by our personnel in these trying times. Well-being of our workers is of paramount importance, this compassionate move will strengthen the safety nets of our workforce aiding India’s fight against corona.”
Ministry of Law and Justice
Shri Justice Uday Umesh Lalit appointed as 49th Chief Justice of India
In exercise of the power conferred by clause  of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President has appointed Shri Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of India. Justice Uday Umesh Lalit will take over as the 49th Chief Justice of India on 27th August 2022.
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of India on August 2014 from the Bar. Justice Lalit will become the second Chief Justice of India to be directly elevated to the Supreme Court from the Bar, after Justice S.M. Sikri, who served as the 13 th CJI in 1971. Justice Lalit has served as a Member of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee for two terms.
Justice U.U. Lalit has to his credit several landmark judgments.
Born on 9th November, 1957 at Solapur, Maharashtra, Justice Lalit was enrolled as an Advocate by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in June, 1983. He practised in the High Court of Bombay till December, 1985 before shifting his practice to Delhi in January, 1986.
He worked in the chambers of Shri Soli J. Sorabjee from October 1986 till 1992 and was on the panel of lawyers for Union of India during the period Shri Soli J. Sorabjee was Attomey General for India. From 1992 till 2002 he practised as Advocate on Record and was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in April 2004. He was also appointed Amicus Curiae in many important issues, including Forest matters, Vehicular Pollution, Pollution of Yamuna etc. He was appointed as Special Public Prosecutor for CBI under the orders of the Supreme Court to conduct trial in all 2G matters.
Ministry of Tourism
State Tourism Ministers’ Conference to be inaugurated by Tourism Minister in New Delhi tomorrow
The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture ,Shri Prahlad Singh Patel will inaugurate the State Tourism Ministers’ Conference being held in New Delhi tomorrow. The daylong Conference has been organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and will be attended by state Tourism Ministers, Secretaries of Tourism and senior officials from the States and Union Territories  who will deliberate on various issues related to the development and promotion of Tourism.
The Conference will provide a platform for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to apprise the States / UTs about new initiatives taken and those in the pipeline, to get valuable feedback from the States / UTs on the same, to highlight areas where active cooperation of the States / UTs is required and at the same time to learn about the initiatives being taken by the States / UTs for the development of Tourism.
Discussions will be held with the States / UTs to get their inputs and feedback on the following subjects:-
- Developing an all-encompassing One Stop Solution including information on tourism related services through a web based application and a Grievance Redressal Mechanism through Twitter and Tourist-Helpline
- Adoption of Adventure Tourism and Bed & Breakfast / Homestay Scheme Guidelines by States/UTs
- Status of projects sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan & PRASHAD Schemes and implementation of Public Financial Management System .
These will be followed by Presentations to be made by the State Governments of Kerala and Sikkim showcasing best practices in the tourism sector and the social media campaigns run by them.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Historic MoU tO be Signed Between ISLRTC and NCERT Tomorrow for Converting Educational Materials into Indian Sign Language
A historic Memorandum of Understanding  will be signed tomorrow between Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center-ISLRTC  and NCERT  to make education materials accessible for Deaf children in their preferred format of communication viz Indian Sign Language. This MoU will be signed in the virtual presence of Dr. ThaawarchandGehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment; and Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Education;SmtShakuntalaDoleyGamlin, Secretary, DEPwDandSmt. Anita Karwal, Secretary , Ministry of Education.Dr. Prabodh Seth, Joint Secretary, DEPwD&Director, ISLRTC and Prof. HrushikeshSenapathy, Director, NCERT will sign the MoU from the respective institutes.
As part of this MoU, educational print materials such as NCERT Textbooks, Teachers Handbook and other Supplementary materials and resources of Class I-XII of all subjects of both Hindi and English Medium will be converted into Indian Sign Language in Digital format.
The signing of this MoU is a historic step as availability of NCERT textbooks in Indian Sign Language will ensure that Deaf children can also now access educational resources in Indian Sign Language and it will be auseful and much needed resource for Deaf students, teachers, teacher educators, parents and the Deaf community, which in turn will have a huge impact on the educationof Deaf children in the country.This will also ensure educational standardization of Indian Sign Language as mandated in the New Education Policy , 2020.
Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre  is an autonomous national institute of DEPwD, MSJE which is dedicated to the task of developing man-power for popularizing the use of Indian Sign Language, teaching and conducting research in Indian Sign Language.
NCERT is an autonomous organization under MHRD which is responsible for ensuring qualitative improvement in school education by undertaking and promoting research in areas related to school education; prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices; and act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalization of Elementary Education.